Former bodyguard in Gus Boulis murder case says he can't recall many details

Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel

A former bodyguard who says he was hired to kill Miami Subs founder Gus Boulis but didn't go through with it testified Saturday that he can't remember many details surrounding the 12-year-old crime.

Boulis was gunned down near his Fort Lauderdale office on Feb. 6, 2001. Four years later, prosecutors accused Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello and Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari of arranging the hit.

Dwayne Nicholson, a onetime bodyguard for Ferrari, took the stand for the third time on Saturday.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Christopher Grillo, Nicholson answered many questions with "I don't remember," even after Grillo had him read over his statements to police.

Shortly after the murder, Nicholson contacted authorities to implicate Ferrari and Moscatiello. Police later wired his van to listen in on a conversation he had with James "Pudgy" Fiorillo a few months after the killing.

Fiorillo pleaded guilty as an accessory in the murder after making a deal with prosecutors in 2011. He was sentenced to time served and agreed to testify against his former codefendants.

Nicholson is expected to take the stand for the fourth time when trial resumes on Monday.

Before the jury was led into court on Saturday, Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes spoke privately at the bench with lawyers from both sides for more than an hour.

Moscatiello and Ferrari sat side by side, chatting under the glare of TV cameras. They face the death penalty if convicted.

In a front row sat the sister of Boulis, waiting quietly with a friend.

With the sidebar ending just before 11 a.m., the sequestered jurors took their seats.

Holmes told them the proceedings would stop at noon because of a "matter that came up." Each side declined to say why, citing the court's gag order.

Adam Kidan, a businessman whose purchase of the SunCruz Casino boat fleet led to a power struggle with Boulis, is expected to testify this coming week.